Stanislav Grof was a Czech psychiatrist and psychotherapist and one of the principal developers of transpersonal psychology . He theorised that what happens to us before birth, such as our mother’s emotional state, the atmosphere in the family, tension, safety, or the lack of it, can leave deep imprints in the nervous system.They may exist as implicit imprints - emotional tones, bodily sensations, or deep emotional patterns that later appear in life as reactions we cannot easily explain. ...

One of the most difficult emotions to deal with in couple therapy is contempt.

The four horsemen—criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling—are powerful indicators of relational distress and predict relationship outcomes if left unchecked. For Gottman therapists, detecting and interrupting these patterns in real-time during dialogue is a core skill. The goal is not to pathologize couples, but to name patterns accurately, so you can guide the conversation toward repair attempts and healthier interaction.